2013 is ‘Year of the Phablet’: expert

Wellington: The new type of mobile phones, which are closer in size to a tablet than the smartphone of a couple of years back, are drawing in more number of users.

A surprise hit of 2012, named ‘phablet, phonelet, tweener or super smartphone’, is here to stay as it is drawing in more handset makers and is shaping the way we consume content.

According to Neil Mawston, UK-based executive director of Strategy Analytics, global wireless practice, ‘2013 to be the year of the phablet’, Stuff.co.nz reports.

The report pointed out that users prefer larger screens because they are consuming more visual content on mobile devices than before, and using them less for voice calls, which is the phablet's weak spot.

And as WiFi-only tablets become more popular, so has interest among commuters in devices that combine the best of both, while on the move, the report said.

According to the report, while Samsung Electronics Co Ltd has blazed a trail with its once-mocked Galaxy Note devices, now other manufacturers are scurrying to catch up.

At this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Chinese telecommunications giants ZTE Corp and Huawei Technologies Co Ltd will launch their own.

ZTE is scheduled to launch its 5-inch Grand S, while Huawei brings out the Ascend Mate, sporting a whopping 6.1-inch screen, making it only slightly smaller than Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet, the report said.